1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to managing electronic communications.
2. Description of Related Art
The percentage of telephone calls that are successfully completed in a first try is very low. Frequently, a caller will try several different communication channels, such as an office phone, a home phone, and a cell phone, to connect with another person. Moreover, people often go through several rounds of leaving each other voice mail messages before linking up or getting the matter resolved in other ways.
There are several possible explanations for why interaction is so difficult. First, a telephone call is often handled in isolation. Typically, each call represents a new attempt by the caller to reach the callee. If an individual is not available on a first attempt, a caller may leave a voice mail message or a pager message. A callee may wish to provide important information to a particular caller, but may not wish to provide that information to anyone who happens to call, such a telemarketer. Thus, the caller is often only left with the standard message of a voice mail system or the even less informative pager option.
Likewise, when the callee attempts to return the telephone call of the caller, the communication steps are repeated and may be similarly unsuccessful and inefficient. In addition, conventional technology tends to increase the likelihood that a caller will not answer a telephone call. Because of the invasiveness of existing communication technology, people set up barriers to avoid being interrupted. As a result, interaction can be very difficult to accomplish.